I recently came across an excerpt in Finding God’s Will for You by St. Francis de Sales that is startlingly appropriate to modern life. He warns the reader of those who think they’re doing God’s work but are actually listening to inspiration that is not of God at all:
God’s servants who have had the highest and most exalted inspirations have been the gentlest and most peaceable men in all the world. Such were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses is called “a man exceedingly meek above all men.” David is praised for his mildness.
On the contrary, the evil spirit is turbulent, bitter, and restless. Those who follow his hellish suggestions in the belief that they are heavenly inspirations can usually be recognized because they are unsettled, headstrong, haughty, and ready to undertake or meddle in affairs. Under the pretext of zeal, they subvert everything, criticize everyone, rebuke everyone, and find fault with everything. They are men without self-control and without consideration, who put up with nothing. In the name of zeal for God’s honor, they indulge in the passions of self-love.
Let’s face it: There’s something about the Internet that tempts us toward the latter behavior. The Christian conduct that you see in online forums, comboxes, and social media sites is not usually the best that the Church has to offer. And if you’ve never been tempted to use your keyboard to say things on the Web out of anger, frustration or self-righteousness that you would never, ever say to anyone in person, you’re a better person than I am.
Based on St. Francis de Sales’ uncannily appropriate words of wisdom, I offer this handy quiz for all of us to post on our computer monitors and complete before we hit Submit on our next blog or social media updates:
1. When I consider what I am about to type, I feel:
A. Peaceable and meek
B. Unsettled, haughty or headstrong
2. How do I feel right now about undertaking or meddling in affairs?
A. Not Ready
B. Ready!
3. Based on my past few Facebook/Twitter/blog updates, people would describe me as:
A. “A (wo)man exceedingly meek above all men”
B. “Turbulent,” “bitter” or “restless”
4. Does what I’m about to write subvert, criticize, rebuke or find fault with something?
A. No
B. Umm, yes
5. I am in the mood to put up with:
A. Some things
B. Nothing
6. Let’s be real: What is the true motivation behind what I’m about to post?
A. Zeal for God’s honor
B. Self-love
Give yourself 2 points for every A answer, and 0 points for every time you answered B.
If you scored over 10 points: Congratulations! You are like a fire hose of the Holy Spirit with your online activity. What you’re about to write is undoubtedly going to bless people’s socks off. You may want to consider printing it as an aid to your future cause for canonization.
If you scored 6 - 10 points: Well, nobody’s perfect. You’ve probably used the words “Facebook” or “blog” in the confessional before, so the priest won’t be surprised when you mention it again. Go have a glass of wine and watch a little EWTN, and see if your update still seems worth posting in an hour.
If you scored 0 - 4 points: Step aaaawwwaaaaaay from the computer. You’ve probably been banned from most blog comboxes and blocked from everyone’s Facebook walls, so you wouldn’t have much of an audience for your updates anyway. Say a prayer to St. Francis de Sales, specifically asking that he intercede to have your internet connection shut down and your computer break for a couple of weeks. Use that time to go to confession, say a bunch of Hail Mary’s, and promise God that you’ll stop being an Internet jerk.
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quote: Give yourself 2 points for every A answer, and 0 points for every time you answered B.
There’s no ‘A’ or ‘B’ option though.
If you over 10 points, subtract 5 for lack of humility and 5 more for lack of truthfulness! :-)
sorry…that should be SCORED over 10 points! Subtract 5 more for not proofreading…
I just have to say ST FRANCIS DE SALES ROCKS! Isn’t it wonderful to have his writings?...he is big competition for real life spiritual directors, though
I got a kick out of this because of something Father said a while back. If I’ve got the story straight, St. Francis De Sales occasionally had a teensy weensy anger problem. If he is advising us to chill out, it’s because he fought a running battle with it himself. Nothing like saints - like my hero, St. Jerome - who have been there, done that.
Great post, as usual.
I think 4 is debatable. I mean, admonishing the sinner and all that, right? So long as it is not all one does.
P.S. 3 seems like a trick question. If I *say* that I’m meek and humble, well… doesn’t that disprove it? ;)
Well, Moses is the one who put that bit in the Bible that “Moses was the meekest man on earth.”
Q: Should you be working or doing something else instead?
How do I know that I should not be posting something? My fingers are typing. (Other than this post. THIS post was AWESOME! HA!)
Thank you, Jennifer. Very incisive and liberating article. Keep up the good work. God bless you.
Thank you for the “examination of conscience.” You could add much more. I have decided recently that anything I write must be available to anyone who knows me. So I am much more careful when I write emails, and have spent a lot of time erasing lines of text that are just not appropriate: judgmental, etc. I KNOW I spend too much time on the computer…prayers sometimes get put off until “later” and “later.” But then I’m no youngster tethered to the technology 24/7.
I scored a 2.
Jesus frequently told folks they were going to hell for misbehaving. I wonder how he’d score on this quiz. His comment about millstones comes to mind.
This is important and usefull, also do not forget the cardinal virtues in the use of technology and how you deal with people. Another note of caution: judgement of people who at the glance of a situation(an email or a text message)by saying they are innapropriate would not be a part of justice. Justice is difficult to achieve at times but requires a examination of a variety of factors over time. If a person of virtue is dealing with the arrogant, the intemperant and those who lack decency or fortitude and must continualy deal with them is it permissible for them to use situational “imprudence” to help achieve better comunications in the future?
I suggest you put some kind of warning with that XKCD comic, because the strip is chock full of questionable content. The comic you’ve included is no problem, of course, but your readers may see it and go check out the site it came from. Personally, I love to read XKCD, but I do so with discernment, and some of it can be highly offensive. A word of caution to your readers may be in order.
Yikes! Am I being that horrible correct-everything-on-the-internet person???!!
Wasn’t David forbidden from building the temple because there was too much blood on his hands?...(yet he was a man after God’s own heart); Didn’t Abraham war with and defeat all the Canaanite kings?;...not always meek and mild; If the Christian forces at Lepanto had tried to settle things meekly, we’d all be speaking Arabic right now… a time and a season for all things.
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